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Doc: Billy Hamilton easing in nicely for Reds

Billy Hamilton has kept some hearts open. It's not just his speed, though he is the Aroldis Chapman of hitters. It's the obvious joy he takes in his work. Hamilton is easing nicely from curiosity to cog.

Billy Hamilton has this extravagant, quasi-sparring dance he offers in the dugout with Donald Lutz, after either of them does something special during a game. "A little one-two'' was how Lutz described it. "I give him a swing, he ducks. He gives me a swing, I duck. Then we jump into each other. We've been working on it for years.''

Hamilton said they practice it before every game because, well, you never know when Blazin' Billy might go deep.

He has done it twice this year. That's clockwork compared with his minor-league years. In 2,258 minor-league plate appearances, Hamilton hit 13 home runs. In the home fifth Sunday, Hamilton lined a 3-2 changeup from Philadelphia rookie David Buchanan into the second row of seats in right field, for a two-run homer that just about clinched the 4-1 Reds win.

Hamilton was so distrusting of his own power and eyesight, he practically lapped Homer Bailey, the baserunner in front of him. "Did you see me running? I looked up at Homer and said, 'Uh-oh','' said Hamilton.

Optimism has had better springs around here. For 61 games, the Reds have ker-bumped, from hope to Help!. Is now the time? Or is now the time to head for the exits?

Billy Hamilton has kept some hearts open. It's not just his speed, though he is the Aroldis Chapman of hitters. It's the obvious joy he takes in his work. Hamilton is easing nicely from curiosity to cog. "I want to be known as Billy the baseball player, not Billy the stolen base guy,'' he said. He padded that resume Sunday, taking away a hit in the gap from Chase Utley in the fifth, then nearly doubling a dazed Jimmy Rollins off first base, with a strong, off-balance throw to Lutz.

Hamilton, a full-time centerfielder for barely a season, has exceeded expectations. "That speed combined with those jumps,'' Lutz said. "He makes it look so easy. He just glides over there. I mean, Rollins said, 'No, way','' after he dove back to the base.

I asked Hamilton what he knows now that he didn't know Opening Day. He alluded to "adjustments'' but said the deepest change had come from within. "The biggest adjustment is being myself, not having to prove I can play the game. I'm really letting it come to me now,'' he said.

Hamilton hasn't been overmatched; he hasn't been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Sixty-one games into it, he's right where the Reds hoped he'd be. His on-base percentage hovers around .300, very low for a leadoff hitter, but not so low for one as fast as Hamilton. His defense has been good.

And on Sunday, he hit a home run. "Bakersfield, 2012,'' Lutz smiled, when asked the last time he did the dugout dance, after a Hamilton homer. "First game of the season. I told him he was leading the league in homers.''

Lutz recalled another Billy blast, the year before, when both played for Class A Dayton. (It's not hard to recall Hamilton homers. It's like remembering April snowstorms.)

Lutz had hit a long home run. Upon Lutz' return to the Dragons dugout, Hamilton said, "Anybody can pull the ball,'' according to Lutz. "Then Billy literally went up and hit an oppo-bomb.'' That'd be an opposite-field home run. "Still a mystery how he did that,'' Lutz said.

The Reds keep you hoping through a squinted eye, mainly because of games like Sunday. Their starting pitching is simply too good to count them out.

Sunday, it was Homer Bailey. Bailey is a bulldog when he's ahead, and he was ahead most of the game. Between the fifth and eighth innings, Bailey allowed one hit, a soft single to Marlon Byrd.

Bailey has won four starts in a row. He's 6-1 since May 1. Shows like the one Bailey put on are why you can't blow Taps on this team. The Reds starting pitching depth should provide the chance for lots of mismatches such as this one, where Bailey faced a rookie making his fourth major-league start.

Reds starters lead the NL in innings per start. They're throwing Quality Starts 65 percent of the time. That means they're keeping games close. When Mat Latos returns – quite possibly by next weekend – the Reds will have a starting rotation as deep and accomplished as any in the game. It's hard to count out a team that can pitch.

Meantime, enjoy Billy Hamilton, who is meeting expectations and enjoying himself. How very unReds-like, in this bumpy spring of 2014.